Commonwealth News and Information Service (London)
14 May 2011
press release
A Commonwealth Expert Team will be in Seychelles to observe the May Presidential poll, Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma announced. The election will be held from 19-21 May 2011.
The team will be headed by the former Foreign Minister of St Lucia, Dr Julian R Hunte.
Constituting the team, Mr Sharma said that its mandate is to observe the preparations for the election; the polling, counting and results process; and the overall electoral environment.
The Secretary-General’s decision to constitute the team followed an invitation from the Seychelles Electoral Commission.
Mr Sharma said that the members of the team have been invited in their individual capacities, and the views they express regarding the elections are their own and not those of either their respective governments or of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The full team consists of:
Dr Julian R Hunte OBE – Chair
Former Foreign Minister and former President of the UN General Assembly
St Lucia
Ms Priscilla Achakpa
Vice chairperson
Transition Monitoring Group (Domestic Election Observer Body)
Nigeria
Mr Lorne Gibson
Former Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta
Canada
Mr Idrisa Jecha
Acting Director of Elections
Zanzibar Electoral Commission
Tanzania
Ms Josephine Teakeni
Gender and Media Expert
Solomon Islands
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Commonwealth Team to Observe Poll